Featured In The Washington Afro NewpaperApril 26, 2010
Dear Chairman Vincent Gray:
I wanted to make you aware that the Washington Teachers' Union Tentative Agreement will provide retroactive pay raises dating back to 2007 only to 'active teachers' and 'laid off teachers'. There are concerns that this tentative agreement was negotiated in bad faith by Chancellor Rhee, AFT President Randi Weingarten and WTU President George Parker and intentionally excludes recently retired teachers and school personnel.
What is troubling is that teachers and related school personnel who worked during the terms of this contract period (2007-2012) should be eligible for retroactive raises for the time that they worked. No collective bargaining agent nor the District of Columbia government should enter into an agreement that extends rights and benefits to only some union members while excluding other eligible union members. This is tantamount to cheating people out of raises that they are entitled to and subsequently shortchanging their retirement benefits.
I ask that as the DC City Council approaches an upcoming hearing to discuss the feasibility of funding the WTU Tentative Agreement, that the exclusion of providing retroactive pay raises to eligible members be addressed with Dr. Gandhi and Chancellor Rhee. Certainly excluding entitled union members under this Tentative Agreement could pose a liability for the District of Columbia government and is not consistent with past practices. This matter needs to be explored further by the Committee of the Whole. I have utmost faith in your willingness to investigate this matter. If you require further information, please feel free to contact me. Thanks for your attention. I remain
Sincerely,
Candi Peterson
Washington Teachers' Union Board of Trustee member
Posted by The Washington Teacher, featuring Candi Peterson- blogger in residence
